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Library Officially Opens

Tribune photo by D'ANN LAWRENCE WHITE

Joe Stines, director of Hillsborough County Library Services, credits persistence on the part of County Commission chairman Ken Hagan to the early completion of the Seffner-Mango Branch Library. Also on hand for the Jan. 15 ribbon-cutting ceremony were Hillsborough County Administrator Pat Bean, county commissioners Mark Sharpe and Kevin Beckner library services board chairman James Martin Jr., school board member Carol Kurdell and Friends of the Library of Tampa-Hillsborough County President Bernadette Storck.

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By D'ANN LAWRENCE WHITE

dlwhite@tampatrib.com

Published: January 28, 2009

SEFFNER - Balloons, cake, speeches and the presentation of the American flag by the Armwood High School JROTC made Lilly Sewell's second birthday Jan. 15 all the more special.

The Seffner toddler didn't seem to mind sharing the spotlight with the new Seffner-Mango Branch Library at 410 Kingsway Road, which happened to host a grand-opening ceremony on her special day. While all the hoopla wasn't specifically in Lilly's honor, she reaped the rewards and participated in the celebration, including a ribbon-cutting, and checked out her first library book, "Jungle Colors."

"I think this is great," said Lilly's father, Robert Sewell, after touring the new library. He said Lilly especially enjoyed the children's room, with its colorfully decorated child-size tables and chairs. "We're looking forward to coming here for lots of story times."

Sewell and his daughter were among the residents on hand for the official opening of the library. Although residents began using the facility Dec. 29, county officials waited until Jan. 15 to dedicate the county's newest branch located on 10 acres north of Lopez Elementary School.

On hand for the festivities, Hillsborough County Commission Chairman Ken Hagan, who lobbied to build the new library, took the opportunity to announce that the community also can look forward to a new park on the same property.

He said commissioners in August approved the funding to build a passive park on the remaining 25 acres. A public meeting is scheduled at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 17 at the library to get the community's thoughts on what kind of park they'd like. Passive parks are not staffed and do not have scheduled activities.

Joe Stines, director of Tampa-Hillsborough County Library Services, said the county will reserve land for future expansion of the library as well.

But right now, county officials say they are just grateful to be able to open the 15,000-square-foot branch library during an economic climate that has prompted drastic budget cuts and the cancellation of long-planned capital improvement projects elsewhere in the county.

Hagan recalled how Seffner residents opposed county plans to build a transportation center on the site six years ago. That's when Hagan proposed using the site for a library.

"I said no way would the county ruin this site that could become a focal point for the Seffner-Mango community," Hagan said. He approached Stines about using the site for a library and possible park, "and the community overwhelmingly supported it," he said.

Originally scheduled to open in the fall of 2009, the county sped up the $6.4 million project by using the same floor plan as other county branch libraries, including the Bloomingdale Regional Public Library.

"We built it despite budget reductions and at a time when many county projects were put on hold," Hagan said.

Stines said FleischmanGarcia Architects of Tampa added old-world detail to the façade, giving the building unique character.

"It looks as if it's been here forever," he said. "You get a sense of the old Carnegie libraries at the turn of the century."

He said he also was excited about the addition of a science reading center that will enable residents to check out microscopes and scientific exhibits in a partnership with the Museum of Science & Industry in Tampa.

Bernadette Storck, president of Friends of the Library of Tampa-Hillsborough County, a nonprofit group that raises funds for the county libraries, lauded the county for recognizing the importance of completing the library despite economic hard times.

"These places are sources of knowledge, beauty, fun and camaraderie," she said, acknowledging the efforts of the Friends of the Seffner-Mango Regional Library chapter in making sure the library wasn't put on a back burner. "Friends provide everything to make it more than a building."

Stines said it was obvious that Seffner and Mango are communities that appreciate public libraries. The first year library services opened a storefront branch in the Wal-Mart shopping center on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard 10 years ago, residents checked out more than 100,000 books and other materials.

That storefront branch, however, was located near a Hillsborough Area Regional Transit bus stop, giving residents without cars easy access. The new library is not located on a HART bus route.

A HART official said last week bus service to the facility isn't likely.

Ed Crawford, executive director, said the authority has reviewed extending a bus line to the library between U.S. 92 and Old Hillsborough Avenue but does not think it would be economically feasible because libraries don't generate enough bus riders. HART's Route 32 line begins at Net Park at Mango and ends at the Wal-Mart shopping center, about 2 miles from the new library.

However, Hagan doesn't rule out bus service.

"The fact that there is bus service in the near vicinity tells me it's not beyond possibility to work out an agreement in the future for the library," he said. "Logic suggests the library would be a perfect location for a bus stop."

Reporter D'Ann Lawrence White can be reached at (813) 657-4524.

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